Big water customers in S.F. to see rates double for overages

Updated 7:32 pm, Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Big water customers in San Francisco, such as universities, shopping centers and the city itself, will have to reduce their outdoor watering by 10 percent starting Oct. 1 or see their rates double for any overage, according to new penalties city utility officials approved Tuesday.

The utilities commission imposed a mandatory 10 percent reduction earlier this month on outdoor watering for all its customers, but enforcing it is essentially impossible with smaller residential customers that have a single water meter for interior and exterior use.

"The vast majority of people don't have to worry about us coming to their house to see if they've achieved a 10 percent reduction on their garden," said Tyrone Jue, a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokesman. "We're focused on larger customers with separate meters for outdoor irrigation."

The city is taking the steps to comply with emergency regulations recently adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board to preserve water during the severe drought, now in its third year.

The utilities commission will use customers' 2013 water use as a baseline. Water rates would double on units consumed for outdoor use above customers' 90 percent level from 2013.

The rate increase now goes to the Board of Supervisors, which has 30 days to reject it if it so chooses. Otherwise, the increase takes effect Oct. 1.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.